Mounting flanges fitted to machine fixtures are often used to connect the machine fixtures to mounting plates or other objects. These machine fixtures have housings to encase the operational components of the fixtures. Typically, the bolt holes of the mounting flanges are radially located beyond the circumference of the machine fixture housing. This allows for easy access to the bolt holes for insertion of bolt, and easy access to the bolt heads for tightening.
However, in applications with space restrictions, this arrangement of the bolt holes being radially located beyond the circumference of the machine fixture housing results increases the overall diameter of the machine fixtures fitted with a mounting flange, thereby restricting the available room for the machine fixture housing.
Alternatively, the bolt holes may be located within the circumference of the machine fixture housing. In this case, the flange must be located far enough from the housing to allow the bolt to fit between the housing and the flange, so the bolt may slide into the flange bolt holes. This arrangement has the benefit of reducing the radius of the mounting flange.
However, in applications with space restrictions, this arrangement of the bolt holes being located within the circumference of the machine fixture housing increases the overall length of the machine fixtures fitted with a mounting flange, thereby restricting the available room for the machine fixture housing.
Therefore, a principal object of this invention is to provide a housing mounting flange which effectively decreases the effective length of a pump housing while facilitating its connection to a supporting structure.
A further object of the invention is to provide a pump housing assembly capable of being rotatably engaged with bolts located in a mounting surface.
These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
A pump housing assembly mounting flange includes a housing, a hub portion, and a flange. The housing has an end cowling defining a transition from a central portion of the housing to a transverse end portion. The hub portion extends longitudinally outwardly from the transverse end portion of housing. The flange extends radially outwardly from the outward end of the hub and is in spaced longitudinal relation to the end of the cowling to create a space to receive a head of a mounting bolt. The flange has an outer periphery with a pair of tangentially extending slots having an open end. The space for receiving a head of a mounting bolt is less than the length of a shank of a mounting bolt, to minimize the length of the housing. The slots have a width sufficient to receive the movement of a shank into and out of the slots open ends.